[awards] Some more thoughts on my Nebula nomination

This past Monday, I learned that my novella “The Stars Do Not Lie” (Asimov’s, 10/11, 2012) has been nominated for a Nebula. Yesterday, the Nebula ballot became official and public. My deep and abiding sense of squee continues unabated.

This is important to me for several reasons beyond the very obvious.

One, I initially drafted this story in the throes of chemotherapy back in 2010. I did the rewrite after I finished chemo. So it’s definite “fuck you” to cancer to have this story do well.

Two, it has done well. The novella ran in Asimov’s, for Pete’s sake. It has been picked up in several different Year’s Best volumes. There’s an audio version coming out. It’s on the Locus Recommended Reading List. People have really liked it. Asimov’s will shortly be making the novella available on their Web site for Nebula voter consideration, which will conveniently also make it widely available for potential Hugo nomination consideration as well.

Three, at this point in the arc of my struggle with cancer, this is likely the last year I’ll be able to attend awards ceremonies in any capacity. It’s also quite possibly the last year I’ll get much writing done of any kind. Health permitting, I will be going to the Nebula Awards Weekend in San Jose. Win, lose or draw, it will be fun to spend a little more time as part of the glorious and entertaining pageant we can sometimes make of our field.

At the beginning and at the end, it’s all about the writing. But some of the stuff in the middle can be pretty cool.